It's a good idea and I like that amount of material available to the un-exposed readers. But I dread that this might turn into the one series that Marvel had that was four or five new stories in each issue, but was "leavings" - stories that were in inventory, or provided to all new talent as a try out.

Sure, everyone has to start somewhere. But some of that stuff seemed just a little TOO amateurish.

That's an editor problem, though. Marvel's idea was a really good one, and this sounds like it ought to work. And let's face it... Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman seem to be as big a pull as anything DC has out there now. It could really work well - I wish 'em luck!

IMO, these 4 anthology comics should feature a rebooted all ages DCU with brand new stories each month and is set in it's own separate continuity. The DCU heroes should be iconic and familiar looking, but with some new tweaks and updates (and maybe even some new takes) to their origins. sadly, this will never happen.

So apparently, a lot of comic store owners aren't as bright as the one referenced above. Several of them are claiming they're going to refuse to order work by artists and writers who work on the Wal-Mart 100-pagers. Unless of course those happen to be big name creators that might cost them money. Because they're also weasels. I don't think I've ever encountered people more determined to drive their own businesses into the ground.

Not sure how to feel that these aren't available to comic shops. Wouldn't the best thing for the industry be to make them available everywhere? Forcing people to go to Wal-Mart is just as flawed as forcing them to find their LCS.

I agree that improving access and visibility is great but DC’s stated goal of getting Walmart shoppers to locate and shop at their nearest comic store holds little water if DC doesn’t sell those shops Giant comics in the format and price that these Walmart shoppers will now be accustomed to. “This skinny little comic costs $4?! Thanks but I’m sticking with my big Walmart Comics.”

I don't think that necessarily follows. As a kid, I grabbed whatever comics that I could find. I didn't discriminate in the way that I do now. If I were a kid and got ahold of these suckers, it would likely be the beginning of lifetime love affair with the hobby.

I live in a small town, and my only access to comics is my local wal-mart. i buy every Archie digest that comes out, along with marvel digest by Archie now. so Im hyped. i miss my childhood days when every wed was a mini Christmas day. i would go to all our local convenience stores and buy my x-men and whatever caught my eye. Back then covers represented what was happening inside. Now i wake up on wed and get online to see what issues came out so i can order, Not as magical.

In the (jugular) vein of rekindling that old good feeling of finding comics on the stands - I bought the new MAD #1 relaunch at the grocery store and loved it from cover to cover.

They switched the logo back to the original. Their "RIVERDALE" satire starts with a Will Elder style revisit to "STARCHIE"-- funny and very cool. They roast "The Last Jedi" and superhero comics, etc. etc. With some of the old gang of idiots still hanging in there. I was really pleased.

In the olden days, comics were widely available and sold hundreds of thousands, often getting cancelled if they only sold 50,000 copies.

There was a direct market via comic shops that allowed independents to flourish, giving us things like Elfquest and Cerebus to name but two.

Somewhere along the line, in the mid-'80's, Marvel and DC got conned that removal from mainstream distribution into the specialist shops would be a good thing. Specialist is another name for niche. From general distribution to niche distribution.

And comic sales went down. Companies almost went bankrupt. And comics became a niche thing.

Steps like Wallmart and Game Stop seem to be attempts to break out from the niche market, increasing sales and taking advantage of the interest that is being generated through the success of the Marvel and DC films.

Of course the niche sellers want to keep it as a niche market. Of course they want to retain the majority of their monopoly. But look, this move in to mainstream is a good thing. Awareness of the product will increase. The size of the market will increase.

So my response is - don't complain, adapt. Be a better shop. Attract customers. Talk up the product. Invite new customers in. Don't make them feel an outsider. Don't belittle the kid who comes in, with little knowledge, take them under your wing.

Be inviting, be bright, be family friendly. Make it so a parent, when walking through the doors is not met with loud rock music where the singer is swearing their head off, where everywhere you look you see statues of naked women, but the parent is met by what they would like to see - the other stuff can be placed in more appropriate places.

Run events to attract people, invest a little, try to get stalls at cinemas when the big movies open, put yourselves out a little.

But don't complain that Wallmart and GameStop are going to try to create a larger customer base for you. Because that's just rediculous.

The comic book shops here in the Dallas/Fort Worth really are gaming and Pop Culture shops that have a comic book wall, and if lucky, a back issue section.

They had to adjust as comic book sales were not enough to maintain a business here.

If you walk in, the merchandise is up front, and in the back is the gaming section, which is where people come and spend their free time gaming. They play Role playing, card games and battle simulations or whatever else that is built in sci-fi or fantasy realms.

Except at certain shops, the people working there are not comic book people, especially the younger ones.

If you mention Miller, Adams, Byrne or Buscema to the younger ones, you will probably get a "Who?". Mention them to the older ones and I usually see a smile and a conversation starts.

The goal shouldn't be to make stuff "for kids," nor for supposedly "mature" audiences.

Some of the finest entertainment, and definitely successful in the marketplace and the wider culture, is genuinely all-ages.

I first got into comics reading Marv Wolfman's Titans stuff. Kids could read it, and older readers could appreciate a lot, too.

The crossover with Batman, "A Lonely Place of Dying," which introduced Tim Drake, was a brilliant exploration of such topics as grief, the process of growing up, and our emotional need for one another.

The difference between comics now, and comics back then: In the classic story "The Judas Contract," Wolfman and Perez did everything but outright tell you that Deathstroke, a man in his 50s, was having sex with his teenage accomplice Terra. Nowadays, they would probably depict a villain doing that on camera.

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